Friday, January 21, 2011

great grandma's quilts

i shared a few of the quilts i brought home from the states last summer, but i realized i hadn't shared them all. since i'm quilting away myself these days, i thought i'd share some more of the beautiful work done by my grandmother and great-grandmother. gorgeous, handmade, hand sewn quilts and quilt tops. once the house is in a better state, i hope to get a big quilt frame and hand quilt at least one of them myself, but until then, i just enjoy the photos of them and keep them tucked away, safe from moisture and mice.  at least i hope they're safe from mice, i fear i heard a telltale scratching in the wall the other day, but such is life on the farm.
mom's cat - millie - on a crazy quilt mom acquired at an auction.
it's not deemed a family heirloom (from our family at least), hence the status as cat bed.
currently, my cat is sleeping on it at my feet under my desk.

i think the blocks were done my great grandmother on this one.
but i suspect the green and white edging and quilting were done later.
hand quilted and beautiful!
an enormous amount of crochet - my grandmother made this one.
i remember her working on it and how beautiful her bedroom looked.
this one's quite worn and faded - but beautiful that it must have been used!
i remember using this one in my childhood. it could use a new binding.
tho' with my relationship to binding, i'm unlikely to replace it.
the most spectacular quilt top - a spider quilt - completely hand-sewn.
believe it or not, i let my sister have this one.
she can have it hand quilted in kalona by the amish ladies.
detail of the spiderweb quilt.
bright and cheery quilt top.
i believe it's a combination of old and new fabrics.
it's these mom remembers her grandmother making while she was bedridden.
another of the quilt tops - this one's in great shape, no holes anywhere.

detail of the hand sewing! so precise and beautiful
one last quilt top - also in beautiful condition.
i guess these quilts indicate that i come by my love of bright fabric and quilting honestly. i'm just the latest in a long line of quilters. i have mused a little bit about this previously, when my mom sent me one of the tops.

15 comments:

Elizabeth said...

How about the hours of cutting all the little pieces?

Tracy Golightly-Garcia said...

Beautiful history to pass on to Sabin.

Have a great week-end!

Best
Tracy :)

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

Beautiful!.. and I can only image the work that went into them. THese are true family heirlooms that can last for generations. Makes me wish we had quilters in the family.

Lisa at lil fish studios said...

It is mind-blowing to me the amount of work that went into these beauties.

I received a piece of lace trim in the mail this week that my great, great grandmother made and like these quilts it's just staggering to think of the time and attention these pieces required. It makes me feel like a lazy slacker.

spudballoo said...

Gosh they are all absolutely stunning, what wonderful heirlooms! The 100s of hours of painstaking work that has gone in to them is plain to see. Gorgeous!

Joy Tilton said...

Beautiful colors and patterns, works of art and you are right to be so proud of them. My mother in law is a quilter, she keeps one going most of the time and has stacks of finished quilts in the closet. It's an addiction I think, but a good one! I guess mine is baking, made bread yesterday and enjoyed the making and the eating! Have a good weekend...

Unknown said...

These are absolutely gorgeous! One of my greatest regrets is that I have no talent at all for crafty endeavors like quilting (I flunked home ec in seventh grade after I sewed my finger to the bag I was making). Perhaps that is why I appreciate the hard work and incredible results so very much : )

nacherluver said...

Soooo much work! I really admire quilts. Would love to attempt one some day but don't know the first thing about quilting! I do continue to admire and enjoy others works.

Barb said...

Wow. I love them. My family were never quilters, sad to say. But hubby's grandma made him a quilt when he was a boy. I love it. But I don't really like it. It's a yucky orange color. I generally like orange, just not this shade. The detail and work in it are beautiful, however.

Francesca said...

As a lover of crochet work and a crocheter I'm in awe at that star in the hexagon motif blanket! I also find absolutely amazing the reverse sides of those quilts, they really give a sense of the amount of work involved.

Deb said...

Beautiful, beautiful quilts. Thanks for sharing them with us. The love aqua colored fabric don't you?

Joanna Jenkins said...

You hit the quilt jackpot! These are all so beautiful and the workmanship-- Wow. I can't even imagine how long it must have taken to make just one of them by hand. I'm inspired-- but I make my quilts on a machine.

Cheers, jj

mrs mediocrity said...

What a treasure trove! I love the spiderweb one best, amazing!

Corrine said...

What a precious collection. I caught the quilting bug from DH's Grandmother. I have many of hers as well and I take them out about every three months admire them and refold them. This protects the fibers from damage on fold lines. Many quilts later I always have one or two in progress. Good luck with your projects.

dreamalittle said...

These are truly beautiful and I love how bright the colours are, very vivid even after so long! I got the quilting bug of my Granma - though my Mum would never think to try :)